A proposed radical redesign of Edinburgh’s famous Princes Street has been rejected by Edinburgh councillors in favour of a more pragmatic choice.
Since a 2025 plan for Princes Street was rejected for lacking an “ambitious and exciting strategy”, the council has been under pressure to come up with something more transformative.
Two options were drawn up and presented before the council on Wednesday – the “ambitious pragmatism” of Option 1 and the “radical rethink” of Option 2.
After a wide-ranging debate on the future of the street, pragmatism won the day.
The plan includes improved public toilets and drinking fountains, as well as longer opening hours for Princes Street Gardens, new natural stone paving, public seating and an upgrade for the historic Ross Bandstand.
In addition, Princes Street’s southern footway would be widened by approximately 1.5 metres.
Council officers say this would maintain public transport efficiency while still allowing the creation of a “significant transformation” of Princes Street and the Gardens.
They also assured councillors that the changes will not preclude future improvements.
Furthermore, designs for the footway widening and repaving of the street are able to progress immediately, while the “radical rethink” could get bogged down in an expensive series of consultations and reports.
The council’s plan – Option 1 – was supported by the Edinburgh Bus Users Group, while the Lothian Cycling Campaign, Spokes, had championed Option 2 – the more radical solution.
Option 1 was backed by the Labour administration, the Conservatives, and the SNP, who felt the more radical alternative would be prohibitively expensive, and had the potential to delay any changes by years.
Summing up her party’s views, Planning Convener and Labour Councillor Joan Griffiths said: “Princes Street is already going through considerable change and improvement, attracting millions of pounds of new investment – but we know there’s still more to be done.
“The way forward we’ve agreed today is a positive step forward – and my thanks to officers for their hard work in getting us to this point.
“This is a sensible and pragmatic approach that takes on board much of what we heard during the public consultation, particularly around improving accessibility.
“Crucially, this differs from previous plans in that it is affordable and deliverable, and we have the resources to take forward these improvements immediately.”
Option 2 – the “Vision for Princes Street” scheme devised by Edinburgh-based architect, Richard Murphy, would result in road space being reduced to a single lane in each direction on some stretches, with even wider pavements and new cycle lanes both ways.
The road would alter between dual carriageways with clusters of bus stops alternating with single carriageways, and new pedestrian crossings splitting the sections.
Council officials, however, feared that while the plan would create fashionable open boulevards, making buses and trams share a single lane would create serious congestion issues.
In addition, adding cycle lanes would necessarily create “floating” bus stops, which are opposed by pedestrian groups like Living Streets.
A significant widening of the south pavement might also require land to be annexed from Princes Street Gardens, affecting “the tranquil nature and access to the currently free-to-use public space and seating”.
The Liberal Democrat Group was alone in backing Option 2, the more radical rethink.
Liberal Democrat councillor, Kevin Lang, said: “The question before us again is whether this is good enough, whether this is really as good as it gets.
“I think there is a big desire out there amongst the people of the city to think big, to be bold, and to be brave when it comes to Princes Street.
“This should be a thriving, vibrant, exciting epicentre of this great city – a place that people want to come and spend time in.
“The officer’s own report describes Option 2 as a chance to reimagine Princes Street as an ‘iconic civic destination’.”
Edinburgh’s Green Group were the closest to the Lib Dems but ultimately decided they could not back either of the two main options.
Alex Staniforth, Edinburgh Greens Councillor said: “We don’t find ourselves able to wholeheartedly endorse Option 2, but I think we should be very grateful to Richard Murphy in that he has shown that more is possible with Princes Street.”
The Conservatives argued that Option 2 does represent a significant change for the street.
Tory Councillor Max Mitchell said: “I actually do believe that Option 1 is hugely ambitious because in my entire time here – over nine years as a councillor – and even more as a resident beforehand, the council cannot and does not cope with the basics of making sure pavements are working ,and they’re safe, and they’re good quality.
“I think it would be really sometimes beyond the realms of imagination to actually see that happening in more streets.”
The SNP, who backed the call for a more ambitious Princes Street strategy last year, voted for the more conservative option this time.
SNP Councillor David Key said: “We think [Option 1] is pragmatic, fundable, and can be done in a reasonable timescale. Also, it will not cause huge disruption to the city centre.
“Edinburgh residents have had enough major disruption over the last few years.”
A wider Princes Street and Waverley Valley Strategy – based on in part on Wednesday’s decision – is expected to be signed off by councillors next year.
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